A 20-foot Jesus statue was demolished by the Kolar district government in Karnataka two days ago, after which Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado claimed that it was removed in violation of court orders and that no written notice was given before the demolition took place.
Two days after a 20-foot Jesus statue was demolished by the Kolar district government in Karnataka, Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado claimed that it was removed in violation of court orders and that no written notice was given before the demolition took place.
Locals claim that the district government, along with approximately 400 police officers, arrived in Gokunte village in the early hours of February 15th, and began to demolish a statue of Jesus. The statue has reportedly been there since 2004. The town, which has a population of roughly 600 people, follows the Roman-Catholic faith, with the exception of four households.
Machado said that the administration proceeded with the destruction despite the fact that the property on which the monument stood (two acres) belonged to a church, which had all of the appropriate documentation for the same. He stated that the destruction was carried out because “local authorities considered them as not proper or incomplete”.
The demolition was also carried out, according to the archbishop, despite a stay order from a trial court. In a press release on 17th February, he said “In spite of stay order and best efforts to help the local tehsildhar, Ms. Shobitha, to understand the directives of the court, she refused to cooperate and even to share fresh directives of the court if any,”
